Talk Elections

Senator Robert Byrd officially runs for the Presidency in 1976, and manages to edge out Carter for the Southern vote, thereby winning the nomination. He would choose Senator Edward Kennedy as his running mate. Everything else is the same.

Democratic: Robert Byrd (D-WV)/Edward Kennedy (D-MA)

Republican: Gerald Ford (R-MI)/Bob Dole (R-KS)

What would be the outcome of this election?

Gerald Ford easily trumps him. Although I doubt Teddy would put his neck on the line for this ticket:

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Ford: 333
Byrd: 205

Yup. Byrd could not do something thanks to what Carter won: paint himself as an outsider

Ford/Dole                      420
Byrd/Kennedy                 118

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A very narrow Ford win, 274-264:
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Not so sure as to how to make one of those maps. I would say that the 76 election would be even closer had Byrd been the nominee. I think being a Klansmen would really have hurt Byrd, but Ford pardoning Nixon is probably what did him in in 1976. I would say Ford narrowly edges Byrd.

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Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy were too boring and had horrible pasts.

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407-131

I doubt Kennedy would run with someone like Robert Byrd, and there would certainly be conflicts within such a campaign.

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Ford - 405
Byrd - 133

Remember, Byrd is a former Klansman...that sort of thing would tend to come up in an election.

Flip MN and I would agree with you. I think Ford would win due to Byrd's former KKK membership and since Byrd would be unable to create an outsider image. However, I think Byard will make it reasonably close (in the PV) due to Ford's pardon of Nixon and the poor economy.

Oh yea I forgot to give Ford Florida.

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Ford/Dole:  403
Byrd/Kennedy:  135

I'd like to put Missouri in the Ford column at this time too lol.

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Ford 383
Byrd 155

Again, Byrd and Kennedy were both boring and had horrible pasts.

No, I think that Byrd could win because of post-Watergate. Carter almost lose because he was a bad campaigner, but I think that a better VP would be nedded to gain more Western support.

I agree about western support but that's Carter. He was never in the KKK. People would forget Watergate. I mean Ford almost won re-election and I think Carter was a better candiate that Byrd would've been. Ted Kennedy in this scenario would've never been welcome out west at that time. I don't think being in Watergate would be looked at as badly as being in the clan.

So, a former klansmen (possibly a murderer, who knows) and a murderer on the same ticket? Yeah...


Commercials would probably consist of white hoods and cars careening off of bridges.

I'm probably being too fair to Byrd.

I can see it right now. A klansman driving a map of the United States into a river or lake. That would be alot of fun for the GOP.

It would have been interesting to see SNL's version of it.

Would Ford win the African American vote since Bryd was a clansman?

He'd probably top out in the high 20's.

Ford would NEVER and I mean NEVER get the African-American vote!!! The KKK factor would be ignored and the focus would be on all the civil rights bills the democrat party has come up with over those decades. If Obama was a Republican, the African Americans would say he's only half black.